ELDER PAISIOS
AN OBSTACLE FOR THOSE BENT ON
DESTROYING OUR LAND
by Leontios
Monahos Dionysiates
The Elder’s word was thunderous in his criticism of Ecumenists as well as hyper-zealots i.e. those that separated themselves from the Church on the pretext that certain hierarchs deviated from the strictness of Orthodoxy. From one of his writings on 1/23/1969:
“It is with grief that the unionists (those who wish to unite the Orthodox Church with heterodox confessions without the latter renouncing their heretical dogmas; i.e. Ecumenists) that I have met, did not have even a kernel or a skin of faith. They know, though, how to speak of love and union while they themselves are not united to God, because they do not love Him." In other words, the Elder sees that the love of the Ecumenists is worldly and thus false.
“More or less, it is with such a
love that our Patriarch Athenagoras
goes to Rome to meet the Pope.
He should be showing love to his
children in our
He recommends those that are "theologians on paper" to become theologians in deed, through exceeding love towards God. Otherwise, they will remain as teachers of the law, people who cite laws and canons, but are bereft of divine illumination and are ill-equipped to deal with the subject of the “union of Churches”:
“I wish to fervently plead with our unionist brethren: Since the union of Churches is a spiritual matter and since we need to have spiritual love, let us leave to matter to those who love God a lot and are Theologians, such as the Fathers of the Church, and not to teachers of the law…”
To the hyper-zealots, who take the other extreme, the Elder says:
“It is my opinion that it is not good at all to separate ourselves from the Church every time the Patriarch is at fault… If, for every one of their deviations, we were to separate and form our own Churches (God forbid!) we would outdo even the Protestants! It is easy to separate but difficult to return”…
Even worse is the excommunication of
one group by another, as it happens
among the hyper-zealots of the
“Paternal Calendar”, (the Old or
Julian Calendar, as opposed to the
Gregorian or New Calendar which is
imposed on most Orthodox Churches of
the Balkans) as they wish to be
called, and their refusal to
recognize the mysteries (or
sacraments) of the New-Calendarists,
or the mysteries of each other.
Since the Elder was informed
from above regarding people’s
intentions, the decisions of God
based on those intentions, and
regarding future events, he
counseled others with discernment.
He would see the oncoming
destruction, as
“God’s wrath”, because of
contemporary society’s withdrawal
from the evangelic and true love
towards God and towards one’s
neighbor:
“We should know that there are not only natural laws but also spiritual. Therefore the future wrath of God cannot be confronted by cooperating with sinners (because we would receive a double wrath), but by repentance and obedience to the Lord’s commandments.”
From Essex, England, Elder Sophronios the Athonite (+1993) said the same as Elder Paisios: “The union of Churches is difficult, rather unlikely. Those who speak of the ‘union of Churches’ do not know either the mindset of the heterodox or the height of Orthodoxy.”
Elder Paisios, with his knowledge from above, advised others to be more self-controlled, because there will come a time when “the Lord will present us Marks of Ephesus and Gregory Palamases (Saints who resisted union with the heterodox), in order to assemble all of our greatly scandalized brethren to confess the Orthodox Faith, to make firm our Tradition and to bring great joy upon our Mother Church.”
Essentially, the Elder is prophesying about a future really Orthodox Synod. Perhaps it is the 8th Ecumenical Synod which Saint Neilos the Myrrhstreamer prophesied: “Afterwards, there will be an Eighth Council, and it shall select the good from the bad to lead Orthodoxy, as a farmer selects the wheat from the chaff. Then there will be peace among people for a time, and afterwards they will turn their minds again towards evil…”
World peace cannot occur without the peace-making, living and unadulterated teaching of Orthodoxy. Even though the promulgation of Orthodoxy has continued even after the conquest of Constantinople (in 1204 by the Franco-papists and in 1453 by the Ottomans), it will grow and expand dynamically after the 3rd World War, the General War, as St. Kosmas of Aetolia calls it. This will be a period of the relighting of Orthodoxy, but only for a short time; for after, people will again be led astray towards evil…
Elder Paisios is not the only Holy Father who warns us about the future. Secularism will bring a disharmony between clergy and laity, as St. Kosmas said, perhaps because the clergy will run faster towards the bottom: “There will come a time when the current harmony between clergy and laity will no longer exist.” And he added: “The clergy will become the worst and most impious of all.” Here, he is speaking of moral transgressions (worst) and of heresies (impious).
The
Eldress Macaria
(+1993)
said that
secularization will bring about the
complete apostasy of the Church
hierarchy from the true faith,
and even in Russia:
“They
are preparing changes to our Faith.
When this happens, our Saints will
leave and will stop praying for
Saint Seraphim of Sarov (+1833) explained that the cause of his “reappearance” was the lack of faith of Russia’s hierarchy in the future; or rather the present, because since 1991 he has appeared again!
Fr.
Seraphim Rose
(+1982)
relates what Saint Seraphim
of
Sarov
told Motovilov:
...“The Lord God has
ordained that I, humble Seraphim,
should live considerably longer than
a hundred years. But since toward
that time the bishops will become so
impious that in their impiety they
will surpass the Greek bishops of
the time of Theodosius the Younger,
so that they will no longer even
believe in the chief dogma of the
Christian faith (the resurrection).
Therefore it has been pleasing to
the Lord God to take me, humble
Seraphim, from this temporal life
until the time, and then resurrect (reappear)
me.”…
(homily to American youth in 1981. Epit.
P. 104.
More
here)
Also:
“…The Lord revealed to me,
the humble Seraphim, that great
misfortunes will befall upon the
Russian land. The Orthodox Faith
will be trampled on, and the
hierarchs (bishops) and other clergy
of the
But the apostasy, as described by Eldress Macaria and St. Seraphim of Sarov, will come to its full fruition near the time of the final Antichrist. Then the “Abomination of Desolation” will enter the Churches, according to Elder Lavrenty Chernikov (+1950): “Churches will exist, but Orthodox Christians should not be going to them because the bloodless sacrifice of our Lord Jesus Christ will not be offered there. Instead, satanic congregations will gather there. And because of this unlawfulness, the earth will refuse to bear its fruits… Go to Church while there is still time, especially to the Liturgy, during which the bloodless sacrifice will be offered for the whole world. Confess your sins and receive the Body and Blood of our Lord Jesus more frequently, and the Lord will strengthen you”… (Epitome pp. 207-8)
Elder Paisios spoke boldly about the degradation of education in our country (Greece), especially the teaching of Ancient Greek, which ties us to the philosophy of our ancestors, the Holy Scriptures and the writings of the Holy Fathers: “There are even some who are attempting to invent a new language. The Greek “tongue”, however, is one of the fiery tongues of Pentecost! No other language can render the dogma of our faith. This is why God, in His economy, allowed the Old Testament to be translated by the Seventy into the Greek language, and the Gospel to be written in Greek. If someone studies dogma without knowing ancient Greek he will be led astray. And we abolished the teaching of Ancient Greek in our schools! Soon the Germans will come to our universities to teach us Ancient Greek! Then, once our people become a laughing stock, only then will they understand the value of Ancient Greek. Then they will say: “Look at the Church, where Ancient Greek was preserved!”
The prophecies of Elder
Paisios concerning Constantinople,
and the restoration of pious
government there, are not
exclusively his inspiration, but are
connected to previous prophecies.
They are essentially clarifications
of prophecies by St. Kosmas of
Aetolia, Leo the Wise, Saint Andrew
the Fool for Christ, of Anonymous
etc.
Pious authority is necessary so that
an Orthodox Synod will not be
influenced by political expediencies
(such as those of the New World
Order) and so that its decisions can
be carried out.
And because all the spiritual
problems of the Orthodox will be
solved, that Synod must be
Ecumenical.
For this reason, God’s providence
will ensure that pious authority
will exist in Orthodox countries.
Father Seraphim Rose spoke the following words in 1981 to Orthodox youth in America: “…So we have to see, according to the prophecies of those God-inspired men in the later years of this century, a certain and imminent restoration of Holy Russia (i.e. the fall of Communism), and even (later) an Orthodox Tsar, for a short time, but not much before the coming of Antichrist and the end of the world. This (the emergence of the new Tsar) will be quite remarkable and not simply a regular historical event”… (Epitome p. 103)
The Russian bishop, Theophan of Poltava, says more precisely: “The Lord will place a powerful Tsar (king) on the throne. He will be a great reformer and strong in the Orthodox Faith. He will push away the unbelieving hierarchs from the Church. He will be an exemplary person, with a pure and holy soul. He will provide strong counsel. He will belong to the Romanov dynasty, through his mother”… (Epitome p. 208) At that time (of the relighting of Orthodoxy in Russia and all the world), according to St. Seraphim of Byritsa (1866-1949), “near every believer there will be forty unbelievers who will beg him to save them.”
07.
Elder Paisios experienced heavenly
states.
The Elder said: “When I was at Katounakia, in the cell of Hypatios, one afternoon… I was saying the Jesus prayer constantly. Around eleven o’clock at night, there came a sweet light that filled the cell. It was very intense, but it did not blind me. I understood immediately that my eyes had been ‘strengthened’, in order to endure the brightness. While I was in this state, in this divine light, I was in another world, a spiritual one. I felt an inexplicable gladness, and my body was lightened; it had lost its heaviness. I felt the Grace of God, the divine illumination. Divine messages quickly passed through my mind like questions and answers.
I did not have any problems, not
even things to ask about; but I
asked and quickly received an
answer. The answers were with human
words, but they contained theology
as those words were divine. And the
words were so many that, if written
down, one would have another ‘Evergetinos’
(a collection of sayings and stories
of the Holy Fathers, compiled by St.
Nikodemos the Hagiorite). The
experience continued until morning.
When that light disappeared,
everything seemed so dark. I
went outside and it was like night.
I asked a monk who was passing
through: ‘What time is it? Didn’t
the sun rise yet?’
He looked at me and in a
perplexed manner he asked: ‘What did
you say, Father
Paisios?’
‘What did I say?’, asking myself, as
I went back inside. I looked at the
clock, and then realized what had
happened.
It was
nine o’clock in the morning, and the
day seemed as night to me! The sun
looked as thought it was barely
shining; as if there was a solar
eclipse.
I was
like someone who, after seeing a
bright light, was immediately thrown
into the darkness. What a great
difference that was!”…
(Words,
6: On Prayer. Souroti: 2012).
The Elder describes when
Christ appeared to him:
“It was
the night of the Holy Forerunner,
St. John the Baptist, (May 26th,
1977). The next day was St. Karpos’
feast day. I felt light and relaxed,
like down feathers. I was thinking
to write something about Father
Tychon and send it to the sisters.
Until around 8:30 (Athonite time) I
had written thirty pages. Even
though I wasn’t sleepy, I decided to
lie down because my legs were
feeling tired. It starts to dawn. It
was 9 am (6am, worldly time) and I
still had not gotten up.
In a flash, the wall of my
cell disappeared (beside the bed,
towards the workshop). I see Christ
within a light, about six meters
away from me.
I saw
him from the side. His hair was
blonde and his eyes were blue. He
spoke to me. He was looking a little
to my side, not directly at me. I
was not seeing with my bodily eyes:
Whether they were open or closed, it
made no difference. I was seeing
with the eyes of the soul.
When I saw Him I wondered:
How
could they spit upon such a face?
How could they -those who do not
fear God- place such a form [on the
cross]? How can they drive nails
into such a body? Oh!...
It is
as the psalm goes: “He who is more
beautiful than all the sons of men”
(Psalm 44:3 according to the
Septuagint).
This is what it was. It would be worth it to struggle for a thousand years just to gaze upon such beauty for only a moment. What great and indescribable things that can be granted to people, and with what insignificant things do we occupy ourselves”… [From the book by hieromonk Isaac (+1998), The Life of Elder Paisios the Hagiorite. The excerpts below are also from the same book.]
The Elder also saw Christ
when he was just 15 years old; when
he was taking refuge in prayer in
order to confront those who tried to
mess him up with the
Darwinian theory of Evolution.
Elder Paisios had also seen
the
Panagia (Mother of God), and
tells us of one instance when
she appeared:
“The
previous Lent (more precisely, on
February 21st, 1985) the
Panagia appeared dressed in white.
She told me that a lot of things
will happen in the world,
and for that reason I should take
care to bring…
(something which was personal).”
She had appeared near
the north-east corner of his hut.
When the Elder saw her, he said
humbly,
“My Panagia, this place is filthy, as am
I.” From that time on, however, he
treated the place, “where
stood the feet” of the
immaculate Mother of God, with great
reverence. He wanted to plant
flowers in that area so that no one
may walk on it.
Another witness comes from
Elder Christodoulos, abbot of
the Holy Monastery of Koutloumousiou
on Mt.
“The Elder used to come to the
monastery’s vigils and would sit in
front of our patronal icon, the
Awesome Protection [of the Mother of
God]. The brothers also visited him
frequently, as well as a multitude
of pilgrims who would stay at our
monastery. However, for a period of
forty days –it was the year where he
had the first symptoms of cancer- he
would not appear when people would
come by. He neither opened the door
to his hut nor did he show us a sign
that he was alive. This worried us.
One day I decided to go by myself to
his hut. I knocked on the door but
received no response. I managed,
though, to force myself in. Even
though I had arrived anxious, I
strangely felt an unidentifiable and
inexplicable calm the moment I had
entered.
I took some grapes. They had
the colour of Rhodian grapes, with a
particular taste and aroma that I
had not known before. ‘Elder, what
was the Panagia like?’, I asked.
Supporting himself, and with great
difficulty, he got up to bring me a
small framed icon. It was the ‘Panagia
the Jerusalemite’.
‘She always appears as the
Jerusalemite,’
he said to me. We talked for a
little while longer and I then left
him in peace, because I judged that
at times like those, one must not be
intrusive.”
Many
Saints also appeared to Elder
Paisios.
On February 21, 1971,
Saint Arsenios the
Cappadocian
came to the Elder, who was
sitting in the front yard of his hut:
“… It
was two hours before sunset, and
while I was reading (the biography
of Saint Arsenios, from the
manuscript), Saint Arsenios came to
visit me. And
as a teacher pats his student when
he writes the lesson well, he did
the same to me. Also, he left in my
heart an inexplicable sweetness and
heavenly joy that greatly
overwhelmed me”…
On February 27, 1974 St. Euphemia the Martyr visited the Elder in order to instruct him regarding a Church matter: “I had returned from the world, where I went to take care of a Church-related issue. On Tuesday, around 10 am, I was in my cell praying the service of the Hours. I heard a knock on the door and a woman’s voice saying, ‘Through the prayers of our Holy Fathers…’ (This is a standard greeting used when approaching the door of a monk’s home or cell). I thought to myself: ‘How did a woman arrive on Mt. Athos?’ All the same, I felt a divine sweetness inside me. I then asked:
- Who is it?
- It is Euphemia, she answered.
I thought: ‘Which Euphemia'? 'Did some woman pull a crazy stunt and came to Athos dressed as a man? What do I do now?’
She knocked again. I ask, ‘Who is it?’ ‘Euphemia,’ she responds again.
I thought again not to open the door. After knocking for the third time, she opened the door herself. But the door’s latch was on the inside. I jumped out of my cell and saw a woman with a head scarf. Accompanying her was someone who looked like the St. Luke the Evangelist, who then disappeared. Even though I was certain that this was not a temptation, I asked her who she was.
- Euphemia the martyr, she answered.
- If you are Euphemia, let us go and worship the Holy Trinity. Whatever I do, you do as well. I went into the church and did a metanoia (taking a long bow while making the sign of the Cross) saying: ‘In the name of the Father.” She did the same while doing a metanoia. ‘And the Son.’ ‘And the Son’ she said with a high-pitched voice.
- Say it louder, so I can hear it, I said, and she said it louder. Afterwards, the Saint sat on a small stool and I sat on a small chest while she solved my problem (regarding a church matter).
She then told me of her life. I knew that there was a St. Euphemia but I knew nothing of her life. When she related her martyrdom to me, I didn’t just hear it; it was as if I was seeing it and experiencing it. I shuddered! Oh!
- How did you endure such sufferings? I asked.
- If I had known what glory awaits the Saints, I would have done whatever it takes to endure even greater sufferings. After this happened, I could not eat anything for three days. I leapt about and continually glorified God. I didn’t eat; nothing… just a continuous doxology.”
The appearance of St. Blasios (Vlasios):
“It was January 21st, 1980, Sunday of the Prodigal, approaching Monday. That evening, while the Elder was praying in his cell with his prayer rope, he sees a light and in the light an unknown saint wearing a monk’s cloak. Beside the wall of his cell, on top of his stove, the ruins of a monastery could be seen. He felt an indescribable joy and gladness and thought ‘which Saint could this be?’ He then heard a voice coming from the church: ‘I am St. Blasios from Sklavaina.’ Out of gratitude, to thank the Saint for the honor bestowed, the Elder went to Sklavaina and venerated St. Blasios’ grace-filled relics.”
Apart from the luminous heavenly appearances, the Elder himself radiated light, as many have witnessed:
“It was September 28, 1992. In the cell of Kapsala (of Elder Isaac) there took place a vigil in memory of St. Isaac the Syrian. Among the Fathers was Elder Paisios, who especially revered St. Isaac. He took part in the vigil from a small cell (room), which was a continuation of the small Lity (the inner Narthex of the church). Before the beginning of the Vesper service, the chanters were all on the right-hand side chanting a ‘doxasticon’. A devotional atmosphere permeated this small church. Everyone was listening attentively. Two Lebanese Orthodox, a clergyman and a young man, were following the vigil while standing in the prayer stalls (in Greek: stasidia, like highchairs) on the left-hand side.
At some point, the clergyman turned to say something to the young man and he sees the Elder levitating about 25-30 cm above the ground, with a prayer rope in his left hand and entirely covered in light. The exposed areas of his body, his face and hands, radiated a very intense light! Beholding this supernatural sight he tried to shout but no sound came out from his mouth. Seeing the clergyman’s astonishment, the young man also turned around and saw the same spectacle. The Elder had his head bowed down, watching over himself. He looked content and was smiling. They could not approach him, being blinded by the light which suddenly became even stronger. When they were able to gaze upon the Elder again, he had returned to normal.”
His Eminence Panteleimon, Metropolitan of Xanthi (in Thrace, Greece), also witnesses first-hand: “It was well into the Orthros at the hut of ‘Panagouda’. We read the service at the Kellion’s church. I was celebrating (as a priest) and Elder Paisios was chanting. As the Divine Liturgy was progressing, we came to the part where Holy Communion was being given. The Elder approached with devotion and humility to partake of the immaculate Mysteries. As he bowed his head, he removed his monk’s cap (Greek: skoufos), loosening his hair. With astonishment I observed that his face, marked by the divine, had become luminous. It was radiating an intense, gladsome light! The sight was not something regularly observed by me. It transferred into me the sweetness of its divine sparkle.”
08.
Elder Paisios remains by the side of
others.
Even after his repose, Elder Paisios continues to help people. This is because the Elder proved his faith by works and, as Christ said to Martha:
“He
who believes in Me, though he may
die (bodily), he shall live. And
whoever lives and believes in Me
shall never die (spiritually).”
(John 11:26).
The miracles after the repose
of Elder Paisios confirm Christ’s
word that whoever observes His
commandments has Christ inside him,
who is true life. The Elder obeyed
the commandments not just to have
eternal life, according to the word
of the Lord:
“If
you want to enter into life, keep
the commandments.”
(Matthew 19:17)
His piety towards God and his love
for his neighbor were a constant
sacrifice. He put into practice
that which he used to say:
“If
someone worries because he suffers
for others, feels pain for others,
makes others’ problems his own, then
he gains a martyr’s reward”…
The Elder left home and
family in order to dedicate himself
entirely to the Lord, and according
to the Lord’s promise, he received
one hundredfold and life eternal:
“And
everyone who has left houses or
brothers or sisters or father or
mother or wife
or children or lands, for My name’s
sake, shall receive a hundredfold,
and inherit eternal life.”
(Mat. 19:29)
The miracles before and after
the Elder’s repose are the result of
God’s grace and have nothing in
common with the false miracles of
gurus and those of other Eastern
religions:
“The
devil gives powers to gurus,
magicians, etc, because they give
him liberties to act. In this way,
they can perform some so-called
miracles, and those who witness them
can marvel at them.”…
The Elder condemned the
syncretistic religious spirit of the
New World Order (in Greece):
“They
allow mosques to be constructed,
gurus to have their monasteries and
to give lectures unhindered. They
allow various centers for
proselytism, Freemasons to act
without restrictions; the same for
Jehovah’s Witnesses…
Orthodoxy is being pelted with a
pile of theories. But they shall not
endure. They will crumble and fall.
The distressed people are being led astray, because they have distanced themselves from God and are in darkness! Two youths told me that they went on a pilgrimage to Hebron and they were given a Jewish yarmulke to wear in order to venerate the tombs of Abraham. What good is a pilgrimage if you wear something used by Jews in worship?” (Talks, 3, The Spiritual Struggle: Souroti)
Elder Paisios battled evil by doing good. He worked to do, according to the Apostle Paul, “good to all, especially to those who are of the household of faith.” (Galatians 6:10) Evil is not fought against by evil, but by good. All that we have previously written shows that the Elder used the most appropriate weapon against evil: goodness. Evil has been increasing in our time because the love of so many people has grown cold.
But arguing with devious people is not beneficial, as Elder Sophronios, the Hagiorite and founder of the Holy Monastery in Essex, England (+1993), characteristically said: “We must not resist evil with words, because resistance exacerbates evil. As Abba Dorotheos says, a good swimmer passes under the waves.” With discernment, however, he added: “One must not humble himself before those who are not humble, because they will take it as a sign of weakness and, in turn, they will choke him.” If we accept, even emotionally, the violence and wars of others, we ourselves become murderers, as Elder Sophrony says again: “All, in varying degrees, are murderers. When we emotionally side with a nation that makes war upon another, then we participate spiritually in the murders which occur.” (Elder Sophrony Sacharov, Didactic and Eschatological Words, a collection by Leontios Monahos A 52).
And on this point the elevated spiritual state of Elder Paisios becomes apparent, as he felt the pain of those unjustly treated, rather than rejoicing in the destruction:
“When the Persian Gulf War (1990) began, I felt a pain in my sleep. I heard explosions from cannons and aircraft bombs and then awoke. I understood that the war had begun and that a great evil was occurring. When a Father (monk) from Koutloumousi (an Athonite monastery) came afterwards and told me that the war had begun, I responded by telling him that two hours had passed since it began”… (Hieromonk Isaac).
Because the Elder carried the whole world in his soul, ‘all of creation’ as Elder Sophrony would say, the tragedies of the human condition were revealed to him, so that he might pray for the afflicted.
We know from the Scriptures that, in order for events to progress towards the revealing of the final Antichrist, lawlessness must become commonplace, i.e. corruption, the making of laws that oppose God’s commandments, local wars and the gradual removal of civil liberties. We will be driven towards a system of absolute world domination by one individual. “And because lawlessness will abound, the love of many will grow cold.” (Matthew 24:12)
“The mystery of lawlessness is already at work”, the Apostle Paul tells us in his day (2 Thessalonians 2:7). And St. John the Apostle and Theologian sees the Antichrist ascending (gradually) to be the head of a lawless (Godless) system and of a faithless people who have become as tumultuous as the sea.
Elder Paisios wanted people
to be informed regarding the
progress of evil, from the signs
given by Scripture and by the Church
Fathers.
He assures us that the Third Trumpet
has sounded with the visible sign of
the nuclear catastrophe in
“There, in Revelation, St.
John the Theologian relates how he
saw a large star fall from the
heavens, infecting, embittering and
lethally poisoning the waters and
their sources… And the name of that
star is WORMWOOD… in Ukrainian,
And already we have reached the 3 warnings of the great 3 “Woes” after the 4th Trumpet. And the first of these warnings was given at the Gulf of Mexico on 4/20/2010, with the well-known oil-drilling rig explosion and accompanying oil gusher from the undersea well that was being drilled at the time of the explosion. The drilling rig’s name was “Deep Water Horizon”. Deep Water means water as deep as "without bottom" or "abyss", "άβυσσος" in Greek. And when combined with the Greek word "φρέαρ" for ‘well’, we have the wells in deep water as the main theme of the 5th Trumpet mentioned in Revelation, chapter 9. (See: "The 3 WOES").
The second warning is expected to occur in the Euphrates region of the Middle East, because it will be the corresponding to the 6th Trumpet described in Revelation of Saint John. There, near the Dead Sea, those contemporary, “civilized” peoples, who are slaves to many sins and mainly to that of the Sodomites, will be punished again. For now, though, there are still warnings...
In the context of alertness, which is what the Elder wanted all Christians to have, he tried to thwart the application of the barcode on Greek identification cards. In general, the Elder supported Orthodox Christians in their struggle to avoid the voluntary spiritual subjugation promoted by Greek politicians at the behest of Europe, behind which, he says, “the dictatorship of Zionists hides”… “Only the devil could have thought of such a dictatorship, which they are trying to build.” (p17)
Because there are many changes being made to the standards concerning ID cards, Elders Paisios and Porphyrios agreed that the Church, synodically, should be the one that decides which ID cards do not harm Christians.
The Church had already given general instructions regarding this issue in 1998. In November of 2010 the Church of Greece returned to the issue and defined two things the “citizen’s card” as it was called while being promoted should not contain:
a) It should not contain the number 666 in any manner, whether visible or not.
b)
Also, in no way should it curtail
people’s personal freedoms.
Elder Paisios regarded
resistance against 666, which,
according to Revelation, is the
number and seal of the Antichrist,
as resistance against the coming of
Antichrist himself.
And this is
why, according to St. Ephraim of
Elder Paisios, therefore, continues to impede those who are bent on destroying our faith and our land, leaving behind as a powerful weapon to Christians, the knowledge of how things really are, of what is happening and of what will happen. It follows that those who are far from God, support the way of Antichrist and try to resist the power drawn from the teachings, even from the name of Elder Paisios. But they do this out of ignorance, “for they know not what they do” (Luke 23:34). Because it is they who have a great need of Elder Paisios: Those who are far from God, because they are vulnerable to evil spirits who are being increasingly unleashed as we progress towards the Third World War, and who are causing disturbances and destruction everywhere.
That there are theatrical and
cinematic works that distort the
truth, blaspheme God and His saints,
as well as slander Elder Paisios,
shows that evil spirits are
encountering obstacles, for this
reason they employ miserable people
to work towards their destruction. This includes not only those
who show blasphemous and slanderous
works, but also those who tolerate
them. This is the primary
cause of God’s abandonment which,
along with moral and other kinds of
corruption, creates many kinds of
crises.
While Christians strive to
hold evil back to make room for
spiritual recovery, the antichrists,
with their works, strive to quickly
bring about their own destruction
and that of the spiritually
negligent. But
God provides for Christians to come
out stronger after the period of
afflictions.
And so God allows evil to
destroy itself in order to make it
known that
evil does not bring good.
Afterwards, he intervenes.
- Elder, will Christ intervene
during those difficult times?
- Yes. Here you see in someone unjustly treated who has a good disposition. Because he deserves divine help, Saints, the Panagia, Christ, often appear in order to help him. How much more now where the poor world will find itself in such a difficult situation. Now it will be a storm, a small occupation by satan antichrist. He will then suffer a blow from Christ; nations will be shaken and calm will come to the world for many years.
It will occur what is written in the Psalm: “Some [trust] in chariots and some in horses: but we will glory in the name of the Lord our God. They are bowed down and fallen: but we are risen, and have been set upright.” (Psalm 19: 8-9 according to the Septuagint)
Before the calm there will be
a 3rd
World War, whose weapons will kill
one third of all mankind.
It will
be a miniature version of the End of
Time.
“On Sunday morning, July 15th, 1990, Fr. Iakovos (In English: James) Tsalikis came from his small cell to the church to celebrate the Divine Liturgy. Inside the Altar he related to the Fathers of the monastery everything that St. John the Russian told him “spiritually” the night before, “the Lord knows how” in front of holy burial shrine with St. John’s incorrupt remains in the church named after him at Prokopi, Euboea, Greece.
- “They think that I am asleep, that I am dead, and the Christians do not count on me. But I am alive. I see everyone. My body is inside but I go out of my burial shrine many times. I run among people in order to help them. There is a lot of pain. They do not see me. I see them and hear what they say. I then return to my burial shrine. But Father, listen to what I will tell you. There is a lot of sin in the world, a lot of impiety and unbelief.”
- “Why do you say these things, my Saint?” I responded. “Don’t you see how many people come to your burial shrine and venerate you?”
- “Many come, Fr. Iakovos, but only a few are my children”, St. John added and he continued…
- “This is why there must be a war: Because there is a lot of sin in the world.”
- “No, my
Saint”,
I said fretfully.
“Since I was a small boy I have
always experienced wars and
afflictions; in Asia Minor, where I
was born, and when we came to
- There must be a war, there must be a war, there must be a war”, the Saint replied sadly but with a steady voice.
And he continued to say that there
will be certain floods, fires and
other destructions in the region of
Euboea (Greece), and other
tribulations as well. Everything
that the Saint told the Elder that
night has occurred and is occurring.
On August 1st, 1990 war
was declared on the Persian Gulf,
while a little later, in Euboea,
there were floods and fierce storms.
People died and material
resources were destroyed. Fires had
destroyed forests and other large
areas.”
(A Holy Elder, the Blessed Fr.
Iakovos. Rovies, Euboea: 1993)
But the war of which St. John the Russian spoke three times is the 3rd World War and not a local war, because those occur all the time. This war has not occurred yet because many great elders were around (Paisios, Iakovos, Porphyrios, Ambrosios and many others men and women in Greece only). These elders, who are all Saints, are an impediment to the devil’s destructive plans and instruments because they live forever. And since their deaths they are able to intervene even faster for those who call upon them.
“You should know that many Saints invisibly come and help us. God does not permit us to see them, but daily we have many saints at our side,” said Elder Ambrosios Lazaris (+2006). Also, foreseeing the “achievements” of the New World Order in 1990 he said: “Because God wishes to hold people firm, He will soon make his Saints visible. Because temptations will become so great and the afflictions so unbearable, God will make Saints appear - even great Saints such as St. Demetrios and St. George. People will hear that in one week, such and such Saint appeared in Crete; in another, such and such Saint in Macedonia, one here another there.
Of all that Elder Ambrosios said that, which best fits God’s wireless operator, Elder Paisios: “Because many difficult days will come, God took certain people and made them officers.” Truly, the comical reactions to the Elder’s fame carry an officer’s validity, i.e. the office which stops or limits evil, and all those who are under the influence of evil spirits cannot stand it. But the devil does not have friends. They must realize this before it is too late: Things will progress very fast. The devil will rule (for a time). Those who approach him will be destroyed by him. He does not have friends. (A 07) And because the devil is a fratricide, youth must be careful -especially those who are far from the Church, lest they take part in vain battles and fill cemeteries with their corpses, like pasticcio. For this is also written:
- “… There will come a day, where the asphalt roads will become filled with the blood of young men. And I ask him why. And the Elder says: We will witness so many deaths every day, the asphalt roads will fill with blood and the cemeteries with the young.
- Why Elder?
- Because of the great sins that they commit, they will reach this point, he said.” (sayings Fr. Simon the Arvanite +1988).
We conclude by returning to
the
optimistic
message that Elder Paisios wrote in
the beginning of the issue of “the
signs of the times”:
“After the demonic storm, there will
come a divine sunshine”…
October 10/23
2012, Sts. Eulampios and Eulampia
Translation in
English: February 15/28 2013
Leontios Monahos Dionysiates
Holy Mountain Athos, Greece
References online:
https://www.imdleo.gr/diaf/2010/03/gSofronios_A.pdf (A17) (in Greek)
www.imdleo.gr/diaf/2007/062_st_Nilus-AX-notes-genetics.pdf (in Greek
www.imdleo.gr/diaf/files/english/St_Kosmas/St.%20Kosmas_pro.html (in English) and:
www.imdleo.gr/diaf/files/proph/1_prophecies_parts/02_AgKosmas.pdf
(in Greek)
https://www.imdleo.gr/diaf/2010/03/gSofronios_A.pdf (A52) (in Greek).
https://www.imdleo.gr/diaf/2010/08/3ue.pdf (in Greek).
https://www.imdleo.gr/htm/666_yp.htm (in Greek).
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YhQRQTMI6EY father Akakios (in Greek).
https://www.imdleo.gr/diaf/2011/2011.html (in Greek).
https://www.imdleo.gr/diaf/2008/2008_CERN.htm (in Greek).
https://www.imdleo.gr/diaf/2008/14_CERN.pdf and video:
https://www.imdleo.gr/diaf/2011/02/anastat.pdf (in Greek).
https://www.imdleo.gr/diaf/files/english/gAmbr2/gAmbrosios2.html (12) (in English) See also:
www.imdleo.gr/diaf/files/english/gAmbr1/gAmbrosios1.html (in English)
https://www.imdleo.gr/diaf/2012/gSimon_Arban.pdf (in Greek).
